Chapter 7 "Salamander" Summary

Considering Ender's success in "Giant's Drink," and his ability to deal with Bernard, the two voices discuss moving Ender to an army. One of them ponders the lost childhoods of those whom they trained, comparing the small geniuses instead to the great leaders of yesterday. The other voice chastises the first for being too sympathetic. The first voice, now identified as General Levy, insists that Ender not be hurt anymore than necessary.

Ender is assigned to an army two years earlier than normal. Ender, who was just getting comfortable with his launch group, bids a tender farewell to Alai, his new best friend. Ender logs into his game to find the giant's corpse rotting where it fell. Wandering through a virtual fairyland, Ender finds a playground full of equipment which won't hold his weight, and which is populated with...